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Volume 12, No 3 March 2006

Case report: HIV-seroconversion in a woman preparing for assisted reproduction: an inherent risk in caring for HIV-serodiscordant couples 

MV Sauer1, Dr Janet M Choi
Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
1Correspondence: Tel: 212 305 9175; Fax: 646 756 8280; e-mail: mvs9@columbia.edu

A woman preparing to undergo IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection to avoid horizontal viral transmission of HIV from her seropositive husband was discovered to be HIV seropositive, presumably secondary to a condom break or unprotected intercourse. Had this event occurred after treatment, the sperm-washing technique used to avoid infection would have undoubtedly been called into question. Nearly all HIV-serodiscordant couples are sexually active and therefore at risk for transmitting infection, either due to improper condom use or unprotected intercourse. Physicians willing to treat HIV-serodiscordant couples must accept the inevitability of viral transmission in occasional individuals. Furthermore, it should not be presumed that all patients who experience seroconversions after either intrauterine insemination or IVF procedures do so as a result of inadequacies in the sperm preparation technique.

Reproductive BioMedicine Online 2006 http://www.rbmonline.com/Article/2108 [e-pub ahead of print on 5 January 2006]

Reproductive BioMedicine Online 2006 Vol. 12, No. 3. 375–377

Keywords: HIV, IVF-ICSI, serodiscordant, sperm washing